After Transmigrating, I Was Kidnapped By A Scheming Beauty Into The Bridal Chamber - Chapter 4

The vibrant spring scene, with its blooming flowers and lush willows, was utterly ruined by the repulsive man in the distance, his presence tainting the beautiful day.

Seeing she couldn’t stop the slap aimed at Miss Jiang’s face in time, Shen Hetang bent down and picked up a pebble about the size of half a chicken egg. The moment her fingertips touched the stone, it flew through the air.

While the man was still shouting in pain, Shen Hetang hurried to Jiang Chenyu’s side and lifted her to her feet. The force and precision of that throw couldn’t have come from her own skill; it felt more like muscle memory from this body.

“Who are you? How dare you act so insolently in my manor!” Wu Daoyuan, his wrist nearly broken, glared furiously at the young man before him, his usual mild-mannered demeanor completely gone.

“Father, this is Shen Hetang, the man I married yesterday. He is now my husband,” Jiang Chenyu replied clearly from behind Shen Hetang, her words ringing with a defiant clarity that seemed to declare to Wu Daoyuan that she already had a husband.

“Good… good… you shameless creature! After all these years of spoiling you, you dare to do such a disgraceful thing behind my back? Go ask around—which proper young lady would ever dare to sleep with a man without marriage? This is adultery! I should drown you both in the pond!” Wu Daoyuan roared, his anger boiling over. When Old Woman Wu told him that Chuntao had brazenly displayed the wedding handkerchief, letting half the courtyard know what had happened, he nearly strangled the pair of adulterers.

“Um… sir… please calm down. My marriage certificate with my wife was properly registered at the government office through Matchmaker Wang. This is no secret affair, let alone a case of adultery. Please set your mind at ease.” She couldn’t bring herself to call him “Father.” Their relationship didn’t seem very close anyway.

“Get a divorce immediately, or I’ll beat this pretty boy to death!” Wu Daoyuan glared at Jiang Chenyu, his eyes dark with menace.

“Father, I was blinded by anger toward the Zhang family. But marrying Master Shen isn’t so bad. I’m the only daughter of Jiang Manor. Do you really want to marry me off and spend the rest of your life alone?” Now, more than ever, she was determined to stay bound to Shen Hetang.

“You… you… Even if you hate the Zhang family, you should have respected your father’s choice of a proper husband for you! What good is this pretty boy you’ve dragged in here?” Wu Daoyuan roared, pointing an angry finger at Shen Hetang.

Shen Hetang ducked backward to avoid his jabbing finger. This is outrageous! I’m standing right here! Does he think I’m invisible?

“Father, I believe Master Shen is perfectly suitable,” Jiang Chenyu said, her voice clear and melodious, each word striking Wu Daoyuan’s ears like a pearl. “What’s done is done. Divorce is out of the question.”

“Fine… fine… It seems you won’t repent without a taste of family discipline. Guards, lock Miss Jiang in the woodshed!” Wu Daoyuan had no patience left for arguing. He hadn’t ordered Shen Hetang bound as well because he refused to acknowledge his status, intending to simply throw him out and then beat him senseless.

Jiang Chenyu watched her stepfather’s mask crumble. Though frightened, she reached out to pull Shen Hetang behind her. I dragged him into this mess. I won’t let him be hurt. That bastard flips faster than a book! Is he going to resort to private punishment now?!

Old Woman Wu, accompanied by two guards, was about to pull them apart when Shen Hetang’s gaze, sharp as a drawn sword, pierced through her. The woman froze, intimidated by those commanding, phoenix-like eyes, and hesitated to extend her claw-like hands.

The young master’s eyes were dark and bright, carrying an indescribable sense of authority. Old Woman Wu wavered.

“Are you all deaf?” Old Master Wu roared, his voice rising as he saw his servants dawdling. “I said lock up this shameless harlot!”

Shen Hetang’s brow furrowed deeply. Who calls their own daughter a harlot? she wondered. Recalling Miss Jiang’s urgent need to marry before her father returned, she began to suspect the true nature of their relationship.

Hearing Old Master Wu’s urging, Old Woman Wu bellowed, “Are you deaf? Hurry up and seize her!”

The two guards behind her immediately grabbed Jiang Chenyu by the shoulders, preparing to drag her away. But before they could, a brutal kick slammed into one guard’s chest. A sickening crack echoed through the air as ribs shattered. The man flew backward, landing with a thud five or six meters away, followed by a piercing scream of agony that reverberated across half of Jiang Manor.

“Father-in-law, have you gone mad?” Shen Hetang demanded loudly, seizing the moment while everyone was still stunned. “How dare you allow another man to humiliate my wife before my very eyes?”

The people in the courtyard were stunned, unable to react to how far the guard had been sent flying. Only after hearing Shen Hetang’s sharp question did they snap out of their daze and turn to look at her.

“How dare you act so brazenly in my own home!” Wu Daoyuan, shaken by the force of the kick, quickly tried to regain his composure.

“My wife and I have already performed the marriage ceremony. Even her father can’t arbitrarily separate us. He’s just a servant. If I ever see anyone disrespecting my wife again, I won’t spare them.” What kind of father would order his daughter to be dragged away by a mere guard? she thought. This old man must be losing his mind.

Shen Hetang’s words rang with authority, her clear, youthful voice carrying a hint of command. Her serious expression compelled involuntary obedience.

Having been repeatedly humiliated by both women, Wu Daoyuan had no choice but to back down for now.

“Fine…” he growled, his chest heaving with anger. “I’ll settle this with you later. Let’s see who recognizes him as my son-in-law without my consent!” With a furious flick of his wide sleeves, he stormed away.

The servant with the broken ribs was helped back inside, groaning in pain. Old Woman Wu reluctantly muttered a few curses before following Wu Daoyuan back into the house.

In the small garden, only Shen Hetang and Jiang Chenyu remained. Jiang Chenyu clung tightly to her wife’s arm, her heart pounding wildly, not from the spectacle itself, but from the kick Shen Hetang had delivered to protect her.

She pressed herself close to Shen Hetang, who felt the fabric of her robe tugged taut. Looking down, she met a pair of bright, shimmering eyes.

Seeing Jiang Chenyu clinging to her like a little kangaroo, Shen Hetang asked, “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, nothing serious,” Jiang Chenyu murmured, shaking her head.

But Shen Hetang noticed the red swelling on her wrist. This was clearly not how a father should treat his daughter, especially one as grown as Jiang Chenyu. Why resort to physical punishment at every turn?

“Come, let’s go back. I’ll help you apply medicine,” Shen Hetang said, turning to guide Jiang Chenyu back toward the house.

“Okay, thank you, my wife… Um… Don’t you want to ask me anything?” Jiang Chenyu hesitated, unable to bring herself to mention Wu Daoyuan’s inappropriate intentions, fearing she would taint her wife’s ears.

“If you think I need to know, then tell me,” Shen Hetang replied. It was important to clarify these interpersonal dynamics.

Hearing this, Jiang Chenyu recalled the past few years. Though she lived in the Jiang family’s manor, she had felt like an outsider, living under someone else’s roof. The thought brought tears to her eyes.

When the two returned to their bedroom, they ran into Chuntao, who was on her way to the kitchen to fetch breakfast. Unaware of the commotion in the front courtyard, she cheerfully laid out the dishes.

Two steamers of xiaolongbao, four cold side dishes, vegetable congee, and steamed egg custard with ham, a simple breakfast that looked like a feast to Shen Hetang at that moment. But remembering Jiang Chenyu’s swollen hand, she instructed Chuntao to fetch medicinal wine.

The son-in-law didn’t explain what he needed the wine for, and Chuntao didn’t dare ask. She glanced at her mistress, who nodded, and obediently went to fetch the wine.

Jiang Chenyu didn’t want to repeat the story of the earlier chaos to Chuntao. If she had to endure another round of the maid’s overreaction, her head would ache even more.

Once they were alone, Shen Hetang lifted the pink embroidered sleeve of Jiang Chenyu’s gauze robe and gently applied the medicinal wine to her swollen wrist. He massaged it in repeatedly, warming the area to help the wine absorb better.

“Wu Daoyuan is my stepfather. Like you, he’s an adopted son-in-law of the Jiang family. The only difference is that my mother married him after her divorce,” Jiang Chenyu explained, her voice softening as she watched him carefully apply the wine. In just a few words, she clarified the family structure of Jiang Manor.

“Stepfather?” Shen Hetang found the answer both surprising and logical. If he were her biological father, why would he force her to throw an embroidered ball and randomly grab a man off the street?

“Yes, Matchmaker Wang registered your marriage certificate at the government office yesterday. She also updated your household registration. Since you’re marrying into the Jiang Family, it was a simple process. You’re now officially a member of the Jiang Family.” Matchmaker Wang had been dealing with the government office for years. With enough money, she could get anything done.

“I’m registered under the Jiang Family’s household registration?” Shen Hetang was already a registered resident?

“Not exactly the Jiang Family’s. You’re registered under my household registration, Jiang Chenyu’s.” Jiang Chenyu’s eyes were lined with pale pink eyeshadow, her bright gaze tinged with a captivating allure. Despite her soft and seemingly vulnerable appearance, she spoke with the commanding authority of a CEO. Is this what it means to be a golden thigh?

Jiang Chenyu’s maternal grandfather had been a wise old man, far from rigid in his thinking. Before his death, he divided the family estate into two households, establishing a separate household for his granddaughter in the eastern half of the residence.

Officially, this was to preserve the Jiang Family’s lineage. If their daughter later had children, they could take Wu Daoyuan’s surname, preventing the Wu family line from dying out. But in truth, he feared his daughter’s weakness and wanted to secure a future for his granddaughter.

When Jiang Chenyu was young, she only remembered her grandfather’s words: “Never give the land deed or household registration to anyone. Keep them safe in your own hands.” Later, when Wu Daoyuan asked about them, she stubbornly insisted they were with her mother. But by then, her mother had already been laid to rest, and Wu Daoyuan couldn’t exactly go ask her at the grave. He figured that as long as he had Jiang Chenyu in his grasp, the documents would eventually be his.

Now, she finally understood the weight of being the household head. With a husband by her side, her ties to Wu Daoyuan were severed. Before, alone, she lacked the courage to burn her bridges. But with someone reliable at her side, she no longer needed to fear him.

That night, Shen Hetang replayed the day’s events in her mind. She was certain that the kick capable of breaking ribs wasn’t her own skill, but rather the original owner of this body’s. She felt an uncanny connection to her predecessor, her every movement flowing seamlessly as if this body had always been her own.

As she pondered this, a soft, fragrant body suddenly rolled against her. The early spring night wasn’t hot but rather slightly cool. The young woman pressed against her side, clad in a single layer of silky undergarments, her bare arm draping naturally across Shen Hetang’s waist. Shen Hetang startled.

She quickly checked her own two-piece outfit, relieved to find herself fully dressed. Good, good, she thought. I need this job for now, and Jiang Chenyu needs a husband. Let her cuddle, as long as my cover isn’t blown.

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